I Know Who You Are

This book received so many mixed reviews, I wasn’t sure about reading it. But, wow...that cover (the black one)!! Alice Feeney’s debut received such great praise, expectations were high. Fortunately I haven’t read it yet, so no expectations here!

I’m happy to say I was hooked from the start. The story was good, but the way it was told was the most enjoyable part. Feeney’s writing is superb and her ability to construct such creative twists is amazing! Some described the ending as unbelievable or far-fetched, but we are reading fiction! And you have to give Feeney credit for coming up with some wicked, cunning and crazy twists...and a jaw-dropping ending! This is a book that stands out...you either love it or hate it!

The show more chapters alternate between “adult Aimee”...a successful, but insecure, actress who has a rocky marriage to Ben. And “child Aimee”...who led a very secretive and tragic childhood.

“The lies we tell ourselves are always the most dangerous.”

Aimee comes home to an empty house one evening. Her husband’s wallet, phone, keys, coat, and shoes are there, and his car is parked in its usual spot, but there is no sign of Ben. They’ve been married for two years, but the marriage has steadily gone downhill. Ben is no longer the man she married and she’s not sure she really knows him any longer.

“Sometimes it’s the people who love us the most that hurt us the hardest; because they can.”

Aimee’s life is turned upside down. Her husband is missing, she’s under suspicion, her stalker has resurfaced and the police don’t believe her.

Feeney has been added to my favorite author list!

My Rating: 4 ⭐️’s
Published: April 23rd 2019 by Flatiron Books
Pages: 288

Recommend: Yes

Excerpts:

“Sometimes you have to fall hard enough for it to hurt, to know when to pick yourself up. You can’t start to put yourself back together if you don’t even know that you’re broken.”

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I was super anxious to get my hands on this book after Sometimes I Lie (where I fell in love with Alice Feeney) and I wasn't disappointed when a library copy finally landed on my shelf. The plot of the book was original, as was SIL, and I was intrigued all the way through to the surprise twisty ending. I particularly like the fact that no dangling issues remained outstanding - fully satisfying my curiosity on the fate of one and all.

(04/13/2023) I read this a few years ago and if I remember correctly, there's a bit of an ick at the end that bothered many of my GR Friends, and might account for the overall lower ranking. I can't say the ick didn't shock and disturb me, but the plot was dark and atmospheric and the book was still one of show more the best, if not the best, suspense thrillers that I read in 2019. show less

I enjoyed most of this book thoroughly. It was well constructed, the characters believable, and the plot was gripping. It is a story in two parts: that of Aimee Sinclair, very successful actress, and that of the little girl she once was, who ran away from home and was adopted by Maggie.

Aimee's husband has disappeared after an awful row the night before. She reports his disappearance to the police and then herself becomes a suspect, their suspicions confirmed when a body is found buried under her back porch. Aimee has been stalked, someone is leaving post cards "I know who you are" and there are things she doesn't want anyone to know.

What I didn't enjoy was a twist at the end when the author implements an extraordinary explanation for show more who the person is that has been stalking Aimee. But then there is a final twist that is brilliant. show less

Aspiring actress Aimee is starting to move up in her beloved career. She is brilliant at pretending, lying, being strong on the outside and confused and broken on the inside and playing a role, most of which has been gained by a horrendous childhood and the events that just about failed to break her for good.
The problem with faking being who you think others want you to be when you’re constantly alert for someone to realise your act is that it’s tiring, stressful and lonely. But someone remembers who Aimee was and what her actions were in the past and the fear of this causes her to become erratic and drink quite a bit. Her husband is missing but she can’t really understand how even though everyone thinks she’s harmed him and show more she’s anxious about her agents phone messages, her co star and her future. Being somewhat unreliable the book is fairly ambiguous, leaving plenty of opportunity to question everything and everyone in between chapters, as I tried to work out what’s going on and who is to blame, as well as the identity of the person she keeps seeing sending her frightening notes.
This book stands out from others in the genre by being full of ideas and quotable lines that help you understand Aimee’s philosophy and the history given of her childhood in alternate chapters with the present day. There is so little you can really rely on that the book is good at deceiving you and making you guess until the final pages. The character of Aimee becomes more understandable as you see how her childhood made her who she is, and provides a nice comparison of the child and adult voice and situations. Bad things seem to have repeatedly happened to her all through her life so I felt some sympathy for her, as well as feeling unsure about her morals along the way- is she doing the right thing by pretending to be someone she isn’t? Are any of us? I read this quickly as I really wanted to know the answer and the end really delivered for me. show less

I have read nearly all of the books by Alice Feeney and have enjoyed them. I don't like giving this offering just 2 stars as I do normally enjoy her books. I'm just glad that this book isn't the first I have read by her otherwise I wouldn't have read the rest.

Aimee Sinclair is an up and coming actress. When she gets home she finds her husband has disappeared. The story then goes on from there. This is a dual timeline story, Aimee as a child and then in the present. The parts about Aimee childhood is not an easy read at times but did hold my interest.

Then comes the big reveals and twists. This section went into thrillerland overload. The conclusion was so silly, didn't make sense to me and I'm left totally confused what actually went on. show more

This book had so much potential but became a major let down. I will still read books by the author as I have enjoyed her other books. show less

I Know Who You Are slowly ratchets up the suspense and keeps on building right up to the final nail-biting conclusion. Psychological fiction at its best!

With dual linked storylines running parallel to each other, one, adult Aimee, the movie star, the other, Aimee the young child who was abducted and brought up as someone else’s little girl and how those storylines are connected.

There is certainly a lot of atmosphere throughout the whole book and even if you think you have things sussed, think again! On more than one occasion! I read a lot of these kinds of books so just when I think I have seen it, another author like Alice Feeney comes along and proves me wrong!

This is one of those books that it is hard to review without giving too show more much away and risking spoiling it for someone else so I will keep this review very short and very vague!

Some great characters, even if you don’t like them, explosive plot lines. twists and turns a plenty and it really is a clichéd ‘Could not put it down’ of a book.

Fans of this genre are going to love it, it is a book to not be missed!

I Know Who You Are will be published on 16 May 2019 and can be pre ordered now!

Thank you to the author Alice Feeney, publishers HQ and NetGalley for my digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest and independent book review.

https://debbiesbookreviews.wordpress.com/2019/04/07/i-know-who-you-are-by-alice-... show less

This had me going for a while there. I was so interested in what was happening and pulled in hook, line, and sinker. I would listen for long stretches and had trouble walking away from the story. But the ending, if you can call it that, just had me rolling my eyes. The final answers, without giving it all away, just left me thinking, "Are you serious?" I couldn't believe the resolution to all the conflicts that had been built up, it all felt thrown together in a sort of farfetched way and it was a little laughable. I almost turned off the audio and left myself not finishing it but there was only about 30 minutes left. It was just all too much in the end and it really ruined the story for me because I'm going to be left with the memory show more of the ending long after this book is over. show less